Winner of the Rockower Award, the highest honor in Jewish journalism, this blog contains random musings of a journalist, father, husband, son, friend, poodle-owner, Red Sox fan and occasionally-ranting rabbi, taken from Shabbat-O-Grams, columns, speeches, letters, sermons and thin air. "On One Foot," the column, appears regularly in the New York Jewish Week, as well as a blog for the "Times of Israel."

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: David Lang on Toldot

As you all know, today is part two of my Bar Mitzvah. Since
many of you were not at part 1, I want to tell you about it, in relation to my
portion of Toldot.

My trip to Israel this past summer was a once in lifetime
experience, better than I could have imagined, even though I was really looking
forward to it.

So what does this trip have to do with my portion?

Well, for one thing, my portion all takes place in the land of
Israel, in places not far from where I was.

Also, the name of the portion, Toldot, speaks to the connections
Jews have with this land. Toldot means generations – and I felt
connected to many generations of my family and of the Jewish people. Even
though I don’t have a lot of relatives living in Israel, everyone felt like a
relative, even total strangers on the street. Even at the
airport. When I got there, the man checking passports asked me why I
was coming to Israel and when heard about my bar mitzvah, he said Mazal
Tov! Only in Israel will a security office say “Mazal Tov” when
checking your passport!

The portion also has a real focus on food. At the
beginning, Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Later,
Jacob and Rebecca prepare a delicious meal for Isaac so that Isaac will bless
Jacob. I find it especially nice that the youngerbrother
receives the blessing and the birthright!

But it’s the food that’s central to the plot here. And in Israel,
the food is definitely important. And delicious! I came
to love falafel and hummus so much over there that I would have sold my
birthright for it too!

In the portion, Esau is seen as a back to nature type. He’s called a “man
of the field.” Jacob, on the other hand, is a student, a man of the
tent. Well, in Israel, you can do both! I loved the
beautiful scenery there.My favorite place was Masada and the Dead Sea, one of the most
amazing places on earth.

And like Jacob, I learned so much – especially at a place like the
Kotel, where everyone was praying and studying. I really felt
connected to that place.

One other aspect of the portion reminds me of my trip: Isaac
was disabled in his old age – he was blind. Because of that, he was
unable to tell his sons apart.

When we were in Israel, I experienced a place where people have
the chance to feel what it is like to be blind or deaf. For the part
about hearing, we entered a room where we had to communicate with people
without speaking. We had to learn how to show emotions using hand
motions and facial expressions. We had to demonstrate without words
how a food tastes, how happy I am, or how much pain I was feeling. It
wasn’t easy but it was very rewarding.

In
so many ways, as you can see, my trip to Israel not only connected me to the
land and people over there, but also, by connecting me to today’s portion and
this second part of the bar mitzvah, to my family and friends, to my community
and to all of you.

For
my mitzvah project, I’ll be working closely with my Israeli soldier Alyon to
find ways to help the soldiers over there who put their lives on the line for
their country and for the Jewish people.